The Judicial Tenure Commission has filed a second petition asking the Michigan Supreme Court to suspend Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan without pay.

Monday's motion follows the denial of a request filed Jan. 15 by the Tenure Commission to suspend Brennan.

The justices denied the original motion without prejudice on Jan. 25 stating, the commission has expressed "no opinion regarding ... the substance and/or merits of the Examiner’s motion for interim suspension...Accordingly, there is no recommendation or petition from the commission before the Court."

The new petition remedied that oversight, stating that the commission "unanimously passed" a resolution to file the new petition.

In the new petition the Commission wrote, "respondent's tampering with evidence during her divorce deposition, so she would not 'make it easy' for her husband's attorney, is inconsistent with the most fundamental principles of the rule of law and demonstrates that respondent is not fit to be a judge."

The commission referenced Brennan's testimony that she asked for assistance in deleting data from her old cell phone and had the phone reset to factory settings.

"Respondent violated MCL 750.483a(5)(a), which makes it a crime to '[k]nowingly and intentionally remove, alter, conceal, destroy, or otherwise tamper with evidence to be offered in a present or future official proceeding.'"

Brennan is facing criminal charges of tampering with evidence relating to her cell phone.

Her handling of the Jerome Kowalski murder trial was also cited in the commission's petition.

"Respondent's concealment and lies were material because they denied the parties in Kowalski and Chief Judge Read, on review of the motion to disqualify, an accurate understanding of how strong respondent's relationship was with Furlong," the commission wrote.

Kowalski, 72, was granted a new trial last year following the formal report issued by retired judge William Giovan, appointed to oversee the hearing.

The commission ended the 32-page petition with a plea to the Supreme Court.

"In order to maintain the public perception of fairness in the courts and in order to maintain the integrity of the judicial system, respondent must be suspended pending final resolution of this matter."

All three state legislators from Livingston County released a statement Tuesday evening supporting the commission's request.

“The taxpayers of Livingston County have been paying for this travesty for far too long,” Rep. Hank Vaupel, R-Fowlerville, said in the release that was also sent on the behalf of Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, and state Senator Lana Theis, R-Brighton. “This must stop now.”

Brennan has two weeks to respond to the commission's request. The next hearing in the misconduct complaint by the Judicial Tenure Commission is scheduled for March 4.

Contact Kayla Daugherty at 517-552-2848 or kdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KayDaugherty92.